Liverpool have struggled against big, powerful strikers this season, and Reds legend Jan Molby has warned his old club to be 'on their guard against [Christian] Benteke' today. He told the Liverpool Echo:

"They [Liverpool] must be quicker here. They can’t give Villa any encouragement, can’t give them anything to hold onto. It may be that they need to be a bit cuter, tactically, than they were at Southampton.

"They may need to play an extra midfielder, match them for work-rate and then wait for the game to open up in the second half. However they approach it, they have to keep Benteke quiet".

Sturridge - who cost the Reds £12m (€14m) has been a breath of fresh air since arriving at Anfield, but one thing that's concerning is his apparent knack for picking up injuries.

Since January, Sturridge has had two spells on the sidelines already, and he picked up another injury last week with England. He also missed England's recent game against Brazil through injury.

The striker himself admits it's a problem, and earlier this week, he told LFC.com:

"I'd have his [Suarez's] fitness. He must be a man of steel or something. He gets so many kicks and he doesn't seem to feel it, whereas I get a few niggles here and there and it's very frustrating because it kills the momentum I'm having."

Maybe it's just an unlucky phase, but let's hope it doesn't develop into a persistent problem. Sturridge's injury woes just underline once again the importance of having at least three top quality strikers in the squad, and buying another striker should (IMO) be a priority for Liverpool this summer.

I dont think hes being rested. Why would Rogers rest him? He just keeps getting injuries and though hes ready to return to play (as hes on the bench) its better to use him sparringly just incase it aggrivates the injury.

Meaning if thats the case - this is probably the best line up. best imo anyway

what with all my experience lol i think i will write a manisfesto and send it to fsg:-) on another note the side we have put out today should imo win if they do not it will beg the question are the players fully behind rodgers,come on you reds do not let us down today

the last game showed we need 3 midfielders, suarez and coutinho cant be the third. It was three from four names, and he's picked the three in the best form, which is clearly the right decision. Id back Danny to come on and score.

However i do think that Sturridge's poor form has been due to not controlling the last few games, meaning he hasnt seen much of the ball. with 3 midfielders today we should control it. It shows we have a better squad that we are talking about losing a top player.

Can anyone say that they didn't see that goal coming from Villa?Why are we playing so deep and allowing Villa to dictate the midfield?I've been watching the game in silence no commentators and they have controlled the ball better.

Henderson has been his headless chicken self,Gerrard has been anonymous, Downing has gone back to his old self.

Why isn't there a front three of Couthinio, Suarez and Sturridge ?

Jesus Christ if Downing is there at the beginning of next season BR will deserve whats coming his way.

This is exactly what Dalglish did last season kept picking Downing and Henderson and they rewarded him with the sack.

On the earlier Messi/Ronaldo story on this site, there were some people suggesting Suarez was better than Messi. I hope theyre watching this game coz this sums Suarez up perfectly. He misses great chances that Messi would clinically finish. He may go on to score a worldy or 2 but the point is that he needs so many chances to score and is very selfish at times too. Dont get me wrong, I think he is world class and a brilliant player for the club but to suggest he is better than Messi is just a nonsense.

lifeless display from the reds ...they just dont look interested..i think br needs to bring on a couple of faces to liven things up ...we are playing way to deep....the way we are playing i just cant see us getting anything out of this game

lol what has happened to the defence you do not go from being one of the strongest units last season to a one with more holes in than a sieve this season ,not every defender at the club has turned into a bad defender in a season its got to be the coaches and manager who have to take the blame for that there all over the place ,i would brinb skrtal on for carra because he his going to give a pen away the way he is manhandling the villa players

Skrtel is the best header in the team for me, but sometimes he gets caught out. Benteke is a beast but it's not him, it's anyone who is very direct, if the ball is at Benteke's feet we stand and watch. Ball over the top, Johnson was ballwatching, Carra too busy trying to tug Benteke's shirt, bang 1-0.

WHAT DO YOU SAY NOW BR? hendo shows hes better than allen everytime he gets a chance to play. hopefully that was a wake up call for BR to give playing time he deserves. by the way pure class from coutinho, were not a one man team!

Great win but jeez-louise...is there some unwritten Liverpool rule that we cede EVERY fricking 50-50 ball to the other team? We don't mark tight enough and we don't pressure the ball near enough. I can't be the only fan who ends up on the edge of my seat sweating out every nail-biting, one goal lead because the lads don't have the ability to shut a team down.

Allen is a luxury player, from a midfield point of view he isn't needed. I'd much rather we had a midfield bruiser who is far more necessary. Even if Allen improved he was never a priority. As for Hendo & Downing my main issue is value for money, despite their improvement they're still far of the mark!

weak hand again by reina should have saved it .lucas was poor gave free kicks away left right and center. luis had a long trip back and lacked a bit of punch! no he gave it 100% and won the pen . did any one see ashley williams last nite to old and to slow and vorm is to small does not command his box dont fancy them 2 . but what about our plan b down at west ham i for one would have him back asap .two great goals and hope rodgers gives him achance cos he was nbga the way he treated him

Or maybe even when they don't. Problem is, he's fine now at a club where he can be the main man. At Genk he struggled at times because he had to compete with Vossen so I'm not sure if he'll stand his ground having to compete with a fit again Sturridge.

theres no chance of carrol playing for lfc whilst rodgers is in charge imo,i think rodgers has made that plain,the players we have in defence are not that bad but they all seem to be suffering,its has if there making a space rather than the players any decent ball over the top and we lose all shape.it needs sorting or we will be in for more of the same next season

Really, the guy travels over 5000 miles lands on Thursday night goes into training on Friday and plays on Sunday, and you expect him to be 100%. But you also forget that he got the penalty that won us the game. But of course you know better. Messi is surrounded by talent LS is not he creates most of the chances himself. I am not saying he is better than Messi but I rate him up there with him, but for real comparison Messi would need to play in the EPL, it is a totally different league

the problem i have with allen is hes a specific player to play a very specific role ...a role we do not need....he offers nothing in defense or attack and that wont change next year ..if he had played today we would have lost that im sure of ...if hendo had started instead of him against the saints im sure we would have won ..its nothing personal purely business

Depends all on what will happen with Big Andy C. If we sell/get rid of him/dont give him a plan B chance we will have to search for another striker. and i personally would prefer benteke over all The gameiros etc. Because hes proven PL class IMO

its a thing called a system. There is a reason we have scored one of the most goals in the league. The defenders are still good defenders just not in this system. Same way a less attacking system isnt good for attackers. Simple stuff but so many miss it and blame the players the coaches etc. The Manager plays a system which means we are higher up the pitch (leaves spaces at the back) or have to pass under pressure which leads to mistakes.

Yeah its a joke,Like where our so-called 'famous' supporters? They seemingly want our players to fail instead of hoping to see them improve,Allen has not been good enough since the turn of the year,Il be the first to say that BUT to say 'I hope this is last game' or 'the end' is disgraceful

Someone on here making sense. Our back four is a utter joke. They are not good enough for this system and we need a central midfielder who can break legs. I love Lucas but he is is never going to boss the opposition.

Bottom line is we need an athletic box to box player with physical presence. Lets say Diame, Cissoko, even Dembele if we had this type of player our back 4 would have more protection added to the fact they are more confident going forward. Allen although not naturally defensive offers little protection & his bravery going forward is not helped by his lack of courage & physical presence. He is the sort of player who won't take you up a level, but won't necessarily lower standards. He's a maintainer! Not what we need at LFC!

why where you not all on the forum when we got rid of local lad spearing who for me is similar to allen and cost 15m less....you can blame rogers for the ire directed at allen by calling him the welsh xavi and dropping players to play him who are performing better

get over yourself superfan ....if there are players in the squad not getting a game before him what are you meant to think...what if rogers dropped suarez and started playing borini for no logical reason would you still support rogers and agree with him.....i support the club not the manger if i think the manger is making a bad call ill say so

I have to say, I was very impressed with Villa in the second part of the 1st half. They really outplayed and controlled us in a way that belies their lowly position. It is rare that anyone shifts the ball around as neatly against us as they did (the reigning champions didn't do it in either game we played them).

why sugar coat it..if a player is playing bad and still getting picked hows that good for the club...these players are big boys on big bucks and if they are not up to scratch get rid,,,,we are not a charity

I have said previously I liked spearing as a player and felt he deserved more game time. As it is he's out on loan, is still a Liverpool player and could still come back, with a good season behind him. He has great energy, determination and loves the club. Blame Rodgers for calling him the Welsh xavi that we can but last season Henderson got stick for being played out of position but that didn't bother some fans all they cared about was his price tag. Jay unfortunately doesn't have a big price tag for some fans to care whether he stays or goes

It wont make any difference rogers treatment of hendo has been a f*cking disgrace ....in post match interviews it pains him to mention his name even though he rescued the game.....the sooner everyone wakes up to this guy and his ego the better.....

yeah i get that, but things arent always so simple and Allen did do very well for the first few months, playing in Lucas`s role, which may end up being his best spot. Cover for Lucas. If we never played a player again after one or two bad games we wouldnt have anyone left. Dont get me wrong I dont think currently Allen is good enough for the first team, or rather a first pick for me, but he is the best player as cover for Lucas that we have right now.

Suarez does not get moved out wide Jason. You think you know so much but in fact you talk a load of BS all the time. Please gives a proper run down of your the tripe that you spew all the time. Have you ever seen Suarez play for his his national side? Clearly not.

And Chirag, you know bugger all either. Sturridge has played down the middle in every match he has featured for us with Suarez right behind him. Couthino, Sturridge, and Suarez's versatility allows them to interchange. Both you and Jason are such pathetic whiners. Go get a book called football for dummies and then maybe yous will be able to start making some intelligent comments.

you can call it what you want,if your happy and think rodgers is the best thing since sliced bread enjoy it while you can ,but pkease do not try and convince me that rodgers is any better than average at best , you can believe that rodgers is some kind of footballing genius i choose to believe hes a complete blagger and the sooner hes gone the better,its called an opinion ,and do not post me any more of your crap post it to the ones who agree with you theres plenty on he in cloudrodgers land

I am not trying to convince you that Rodgers is the best. I am merely telling you that you have no clue what you are talking about. You keep on writing without thinking before using your keyboard. You spew the same crap over and over again. When somebody has beaten you then you turn to insults. it just show how pathetic you are. Would you care to make some intelligent comments for a change?

sorry m8 you say iam wrong i say iam right so whos to say whos right obviousley you have such a high opinion of yourself that you can probably not even concider it could be you and as for parthetic who started the insults to me and chirag,oh i know the all knowing do not bother repling as why waste your time as its PATHETIC

adams and a whole host of players have been deemed not good enough after a short period.....i look at hendo and i see potential hes big and fast ...i look at allen and cant see what he adds to the team...and if his best position is allegedly DM ..well im sorry we arnt going into europe with him playing there

if allen is our dm cover well im sorry hes not good enough....hes no makelele and hes no momo so what is he in that position...i dont want to seem hard on him but i just dont think we ever needed him hes a luxury player who we cant afford to carry..if you think hes the answer to our Dm cover instead of someone like watever from celtic so be it

A little surprised that most of the poster here are happy with that performance. First half was shocking and we were only good for about 15mins in the second half. We were beaten to EVERY header and we gave Benteke too much respect. How many times did you see lucas give him 5 yards whenever the ball was near the belgian? Cara was the only reason Benteke didn't score more and thats because he was using every trick in the book (some illegal) to distrupt his runs/movement. Villa deserved more and almost got an equalizer at the end. Almost wish they had because the lads looked like they had given up on the season for most of that game and I only hope they wake up against the hammers (good thing Andy isn't playing because he would have seen Benteke and fancied his chances against us).

You might have gotten me wrong. If you read again I meant, Sturridge should play in right wing permanently like in Chelsea and Downing should be his back up. Suarez should always play in middle,,,I also stressed upon ALWAYS.....I don't know what made you think am whining...I was furious because sturridge is relatively new signing and should play more game to get gelled.